Calgary Zoo banking on panda popularity, and hopefully, fertility

Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald03.25.2013

Prime Minister Stephen Harper chats with dignitaries at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Monday March 25, 2015 as he welcomes Da Mao, one of two Giant Pandas on loan to Canada from China.Frank Gunn
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

This handout image provided by the office of the Prime Minister of Canada shows, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper(C) signing for the delivery of Da Mao and his mate Er Shun, the giant pandas on loan from China, as his wife Laureen(L) and Lisa Lisson, President of FedEx Canada, look on in Toronto, Canada on March 25, 2013. Canada welcomed two cute and furry ambassadors on Monday -- giant pandas on loan from China for 10 years to mark a warming of Sino-Canadian ties. Er Shun and her mate Da Mao landed in Toronto after a nearly 24-hour journey from the Research Base For Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, China, aboard a transport jet stocked with in-flight meals of bamboo and apples.JASON RANSOM
/ AFP/Getty Images

Prime Minister Stephen Harper chats with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Junsai at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Monday March 25, 2015 as he welcomes Da Mao, one of two Giant Pandas on loan to Canada from China.Frank Gunn
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

Giant Panda, Kai Kai is seen in the Giant Panda enclosure during a media tour ahead of the opening of River Safari at the Singapore Zoo on March 25, 2013 in Singapore. The River Safari is Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s latest attraction. Set over 12 hectares, the park is Asia’s first and only river-themed wildlife park and will showcase wildlife from eight iconic river systems of the world, including the Mekong River, Amazon River, the Congo River through to the Ganges and the Mississippi.Chris McGrath
/ Getty Images

Female panda Er Shun eats bamboo at the Panda House at the Chongqing Zoo in Chongqing, China Saturday February 11, 2012.Adrian Wyld
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

While Canadians are celebrating the recent arrival of two giant pandas on loan from China, Calgary is already thinking about their departure a decade from now.

“Hopefully a cub will be born in Calgary. That will be the first panda ever travelling with a Canadian passport,” said Dr. Clément Lanthier, president and CEO of the Calgary Zoo.

The two breeding bears, Er Shun and Da Mao, touched down in Toronto Monday for the first half of the 10-year stay.

In 2018, it will be Calgary’s turn to house the giant pandas for five years. It is the first time since the 1988 Olympic Winter Games the city zoo is hosting China’s unofficial national mascots.

Officials hope the pair will breed during their time in Canada.

The pandas are headed for quarantine for a month before Toronto’s exhibit opens in May.

The agreement between the Toronto and Calgary zoos and China marks the first time in over 20 years Canada has welcomed giant pandas.

Both zoos are footing a combined bill of $10 million to invest in research and conservation of the species in China.

The Calgary Zoo says it is confident the popular pandas will create a frenzy in the numbers of visitors, covering expenses.

But just what the return of Panda Magic will look like in Calgary remains to be seen. Plans to build a new enclosure or renovate and existing building to house the pandas are ongoing.

“It’s still five years from now. We haven’t started training staff or designing the space we will keep them in, or even where the bamboo will come from,” said Lanthier.

Pandas eat nearly 100 lbs of bamboo a day, he said.

“Five years is kind of a long time. We will have to make our minds pretty clear in the next two years, and fundraise accordingly.”

In 1988, record numbers of Calgarians and visitors lined up for a glimpse of visiting pandas Xi Xi and Qun Qun.

The two females were a huge hit and souvenirs sold out.

Between February and September that year, 1.35 million people flocked to the Panda Magic enclosure.

Alpha Dairy even created a special themed ice cream blend for the occasion. Consumers were encouraged to slice into the brick-sized dessert container to reveal a black-and-white panda face design.

The old Olympic panda exhibit saw the bears housed west of the elephants near the current maqaque habitat.

The zoo built a $900,000 enclosure for the duo back them.

“One thing we know, the ‘88 enclosure by today’s standards is very inadequate. They only came for a few months,” said Lanthier.

Giant pandas are unique to China and serve as unofficial national mascots. They are seen as symbols of peace, friendship and good fortune.

Currently there are only about 1,600 giant pandas left in the wild and about 300 in zoos and breeding centres around the world.

Ultimately, the zoo is hoping to shine a spotlight on its efforts to education about all endangered species, not just the charismatic mega fauna, said Lanthier.

“Having giant pandas is a huge opportunity to talk about other species at risk. We have a role to play and we want to make sure people will care for other species, such as marmots and frogs, but obviously people think about the giant pandas, the gorillas, the tigers. To get people pumped up about the marmot isn’t as easy, but they will connect with the giant panda.”

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